Proposed Community Guidelines / FAQ

[Varda]

As suggested by ASID, it might be helpful to have some community guidelines posted so newbies can know the ropes without having to guess. I think we could do it as an FAQ, so as to preserve the freewheeling atmosphere and also include some questions that come up all the time. It shouldn't be a case of imposing rules that didn't exist before, but rather putting into words things that are already rules, but so newcomers can find them. Here are my thoughts, but perhaps those of you who have been around longer might have a better sense:


Community guidelines:
Q: What are the house rules around here?
A: Respect your fellow weirdos by avoiding personal attacks. We like diversity around here. Your opinion will be welcomed and accepted provided you give it respectfully.

We do not tolerate harassment of any sort. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, contact a moderator.

For the episode feedback threads, please try to keep comments semi- on-topic.

Q: How about profanity? Can I say the d-word? How about the f-word? Or the r-word? You know the one.
A: Fuck, yes! Provided, of course, the language isn’t used in disrespectful or hurtful ways toward other humans.

Drabbles:
Q: What’s a drabble?
A: A drabble is a story of exactly 100 words.

Q: Can I write one?
A: Sure! Just create a new thread on the Drabbles forum (link) and post it for all to enjoy.

Q: How do I get picked for the show?
A: All stories on the Drabbles forum are considered. Upcoming episode themes are posted here (link), so you can craft stories with them in mind and increase your chances of getting picked. You can also email them to submissions@drabblecast.org if you prefer.

Twabbles:
Q: What’s a twabble?
A: A twabble is a story of exactly 100 characters, not counting spaces. Punctuation does count. ASID helpfully maintains this twabble-sizing tool for your convenience, to make character-counting easy.

Q: Can I write one?
A: Sure! Post your twabbles here (link). All twabbles on Drabblecast episodes are pulled from this thread.

Other:
Q: What’s this derpy golden penguin/baby thing next to my name mean?
A: That marks people who are currently online.

[ROU Killing Time]

Q: How about profanity? Can I say the d-word? How about the f-word? Or the r-word? You know the one.
A: Fuck, yes! Provided, of course, the language isn’t used in disrespectful or hurtful ways toward other humans.

I feel better now.

(For the record, we in The Culture endeavor to always maintain a respectful and non-hurtful attitude towards all sentient life-forms, humanoid or otherwise.)

[strawman]

(For the record, we in The Culture endeavor to always maintain a respectful and non-hurtful attitude towards all sentient life-forms, humanoid or otherwise.)

"My fellow probiots..."

[tbaker2500]

Other:
Q: What’s this derpy golden penguin/baby thing next to my name mean?
A: That marks people who are currently online.

THANK YOU. You don't know how long it took me to figure this out!!!

Sounds good. I'd link "contact moderator" to my PM.

[Varda]

Other:
Q: What’s this derpy golden penguin/baby thing next to my name mean?
A: That marks people who are currently online.

THANK YOU. You don't know how long it took me to figure this out!!!

You're telling me. At first I thought it meant "Noob" because it looks like the Platonic ideal of a noob, and it would go away after you made so many posts. Then when I got to around 200 posts, I thought maybe it only went away after you'd been a forum member for a certain amount of time. Then finally I put it all together one day, and felt really smart. Or dumb. Or a bit of both.

(For the record, we in The Culture endeavor to always maintain a respectful and non-hurtful attitude towards all sentient life-forms, humanoid or otherwise.)

Ah, yes, then we should definitely extend this to all sentient beings, so as not to shut out DC fans who might be descended from giant bugs and such, or those who are of the android persuasion.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

... I think we could do it as an FAQ...
Community guidelines: ...
FAQ section, EG "Drabbles:"... ...

Sounds like a good start.

The forum already has a FAQ. It's pretty useless; Tom should fix that. We certainly could use a more DC-specific FAQ.

DC could use a wiki. Tom should be able to setup one here on drabblecast.org in about 2 minutes on the control panel. Having main links to it in the main site and the forum site is not too much more work.

Single Sign-On is more work still, but worth it for user ease -- as long as basic security is maintained on the domain.

I can also host the wiki on twitfic.net, but that makes coordinating logins much more problematic and looks cheesier than having everything on drabblecast.org.

[ROU Killing Time]

(For the record, we in The Culture endeavor to always maintain a respectful and non-hurtful attitude towards all sentient life-forms, humanoid or otherwise.)

"My fellow probiots..."

I've always wondered what your reaction to Banks would be, Strawman. (He certainly approached reality from a completely different trajectory than you.)

[strawman]

One of my life goals is to try other trajectories.

[tbaker2500]

The forum already has a FAQ. It's pretty useless; Tom should fix that. We certainly could use a more DC-specific FAQ.

Huh. Who knew?

I've always been a tepid on wiki's. They promise so much, be rarely deliver. If I get some promises to properly fill out a wiki, I can put one up here.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

I promise I'll do at least 2 entries, and I'll help monitor for vandalism.
DC seems to be finding a whole bunch of ways of eating into my free time, or I'd commit to more, but I'm guessing I will do more.